GetGo, pizza restaurants coming to Peters Twp.

Published Aug 26, 2013 at 10:31 am
(Updated Aug 26, 2013 at 10:31 am)

Rick Shrum/for The Almanac
Steel framing is going up and bricks are being set for the Market District Express project, which calls for a grocery store, gasoline pumps and a car wash at Washington Road and Circle Drive in Peters Township.

Rick Shrum/for The Almanac
Workers help prepare Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza for its opening on McDowell Lane in Peters Township.

The Market District Express/GetGo is a go in Peters Township.

After months of inactivity, workers are working and trucks are trucking again at the corner of Route 19 and Circle Drive. Suddenly, steel is up and buildings are taking shape on the site where South Hills Ford once operated.

Dick Roberts, spokesman for Giant Eagle, said design changes by the company halted the project, which calls for a smaller version of the company’s Market District store, 16 GetGo gasoline pumps and a car wash.

Commonly shopped grocery items, including produce and prepared foods, will be available in the 14,000-square-foot Express, which also will feature a pharmacy and a cafe at which beer will be served.

The complex will be 2.5 miles from a standard-sized Giant Eagle on McMurray Road in Peters.

Construction began last fall and accelerated quickly, with the site cleared, earth moved and graded, and metal framework for the pumps installed. Then it stopped, abruptly, this spring. Work resumed recently.

In an email Aug. 16, Roberts said there isn’t a target date for opening, but it should be this year. He also said the project will not affect a GetGo convenience store/gas station less than a half-mile to the south, on the opposite side of Washington Road.

The company said this will be its first Market District Express, a compact version of the Market District stores in Bethel Park and Robinson Township in Allegheny County.

Giant Eagle is hiring for the new Peters site. Go to Careers.MarketDistrict.com.

Pizza in PT

Pizza with a distinctive Italian-Burgh flavor is coming to two sites in Peters Township.

Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza opened Aug. 26 at 102 McDowell Lane, just off Washington Road, where Damon’s Grill once plied its trade. And Fiori’s Pizzaria plans an October debut on Route 19 (Washington Road), near Forest Lawn Gardens. The building that formerly housed Parkvale Savings Bank and before that The Almanac newspaper.

Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino is an equity partner in Anthony’s, and a Pittsburgher with ultra-deep roots. He grew up in the city’s Oakland section, starred at Central Catholic and the University of Pittsburgh before becoming an icon with the Miami Dolphins. Marino and founder/chief executive officer Anthony Bruno will be at the restaurant during parts of the afternoon and evening Aug. 29.

Anthony’s, a franchise company based in South Florida, uses coal-burning ovens. Pizza, wings, pork ribs and Eggplant Marino are among the offerings. Anthony’s has two other restaurants in Robinson Township and Monroeville and plans to open another next year in Cranberry.

Hours at the local Anthony’s will be 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. For carryout, call 724-941-4900

Fiori’s has been an appetizing slice of life in the Brookline section of Pittsburgh for three decades plus. But despite success, it didn’t expand its doughprint . . . until now. The owner, Fiori Moscatiello, has a large “Opening Soon” sign on the property.

The original shop is at 103 Capital Ave., a hand-tossed pie toss from Auto Row along Route 19, also known in that vicinity as West Liberty Avenue.

Fiori’s pizzas are popular among Brookline and Beechview residents, but calzones, pasta dishes, hoagies and salads are among other menu items.

Actually, according to urbanspoon.com, Fiori’s reputation goes beyond those rough-and-tumble city neighborhoods. That website allows bloggers, diners and others to review and comment on restaurants in cities worldwide, and on the Urbanspoon Pittsburgh link, a Peters resident writes:

“Used to live in Brookline and Dormont. Always went to Fiori’s. I’ve lived in McMurray for almost seven years and still drive up for a pie when I get time. . . . I’ve had pizza all over the country and have yet to find one that can hold a candle to Fiori’s. Bucket list best pizza.”